16 June 2017

In the Midst: Holy Orders

T

he Ordination of men as priests
or deacons can occur at any time. In the Western Orthodox
tradition, the Ember Days of Advent, Lent, September—and most especially the
week of Pentecost—are designated for conferring the Sacrament of Holy Orders.

During these Ember days, the entire
Church joins the candidates in a special fast and penitential Mass on the
Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday leading up to the ordination of deacons and
priests during the Saturday Divine Liturgy. (The lesser orders may also be

conferred at this time.). At this time, the entire community of the faithful
pray for the Spirit’s grace both upon the men who will be ordained, and upon
the whole church so that she may increase and her members may grow in faith and
holiness.

Our Lord’s Church cannot grow in faith
or holiness without His sacred ministers. Their ministry is to deliver His
gifts—the sacred mysteries—which unite us to Christ, seal us with His Spirit,
heal our bodies and forgive our souls, and strengthen our life in and with each
other until we together attain the fullness of the kingdom of heaven.

But there is something more that is
revealed in this Ember Day practice. The whole Christian community fasts and
prays (while only some are being ordained) because this Holy Sacrament—unlike
all the sacred mysteries—centers the Christian parish family. That is the
essence of this sacrament. Fr Alexander Schmemann, of blessed memory, puts it
this way:

If
each man [or woman] is to find in Christ his own life, if Christian engineers
find in the Church what it means to be a Christian engineer, if a Christian
novelist finds in the church the idea of what is Christian art, if a Christian
father and a Christian mother find in the Church the essence of Christian
parenthood, there must be someone in the center of the community who, just as
Christ, has nothing of his own, but in whom and through whom everyone else can
find his way.

That “someone” who stands in the
center of the community is “the one who makes Christ present—who ‘represents,’ but in a very real sense, Christ’s care,
Christ’s love, Christ’s teaching.” (Schmemann) To say it simply, the Priest is
the one who re-presents Christ; that is, who repeatedly makes Christ present. And
it is the same with the Deacon: he also presents Christ again and again.

The significant difference between the
priest and deacon is that the priest’s primary focus is making present Christ’s
compassion and mercy for the soul (i.e., through the sacraments and
visitations), while the deacon’s primary emphasis is making present Christ’s
compassion for the body (i.e., through material assistance and prayer).

These roles are clearly demonstrated
in the Divine Liturgy. The Deacon reads the Gospel of Our Incarnate Lord,
reminding us in every word that God came in our flesh to put an end to our
captivity to ungodly passions not by freeing our souls from our bodies, but by
healing, redeeming, and restoring our bodies as well as our souls; and that this
liberation culminates when, by His Ascension, Our Lord shows that our flesh
will be capable of being raised up to heaven to see the Father with our very
own eyes.

In a similar way, the Priest does not
just promise but actually bestows upon us the compassion and mercy of the
Father through the Son in the unity of the Spirit. This peace with God, which
surpasses our understanding, is delivered when the Priest leads the prayers,
and gives the blessing. And most especially, when the Priest handles the Lord’s
very own Body and Blood, and leads us to give thanks by consuming the Holy
Eucharist, then is the Lord’s own divine nature, abundantly and unfathomably, knitted
to our own flesh and coursing through our veins.

In both instances, when the Deacon and
the Priest serve us, the re-present Christ to us, making Him present, standing
in our midst. For they say, “The Lord be with you,” each time before they exercise
their specific ministry. These words mean that the “I AM,” who is always with
us, now, by means of the Deacon and Priest, stands in the midst of the “two or
three” (or more). The faithful acknowledge this whenever they respond, “And
with thy spirit.” For those speak declare that the Holy Spirit, given to the Sacred
Ministers in the Sacrament of Holy Orders, has permitted us to see not them,
but Christ; not their failings and weaknesses, but His strength and undying
kind-heartedness.

In practical, every-day terms, the
Sacrament of Holy Orders is exactly that: a re-ordering of the life of the
ordained man. No longer does that man have a “private” or “individual” life. No
longer can he make decisions based solely on what is best for himself, his
health, his prosperity or success, or even his family. And no longer can he set
aside, even when “vacationing” or on his “day-off,” his duty and responsibility
to serve at the altar or pray the prescribed prayers.

In a very real sense, then, the
ordained man is “under orders.” In every moment, he must “become all things to all
men.” He must “do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the
household of faith.” For his life is no longer his own, but is offered up as
Christ gave Himself completely as a self-offering for men.

This is why Holy Orders is a sacrament
which conveys the grace to bolster and sustain those who are ordained. And
perhaps you see why it is both good and necessary for the whole Church to join
in the fasts and prayers—not only for the men who will be ordained, but even
more so for the priests and deacons who now serve. For by your fasting, you
remember the sacrifice; and by your prayers, you support and encourage them in
being faithful to their orders.